Semi-Daily Scribbles

  I had the wonderful opportunity this week to talk books and writing with a colleague at work. He had actually come by my desk to inform me of a new report he’d written that would help me complete a project I’ve been working on. As is often the case in the workplace, simple messages delivered en route to other tasks can take on their own head of steam. Trains of thought go off course and sometimes collide, and that’s when conversations are the most fun. I learned from our chat that this technically minded individual was an English major and that he used to write quite a bit. Today, though he still writes, the work he produces is very different from prose. My colleague expressed concern that after years of writing reports, Methods of Procedure, and other technical documents, he has lost the ability to construct flowing, full-bodied sentences. The writing he does for work is peppered with short, clipped, concise phrases that, according to him, “has turned his voice into a chatty one.” He said he’s always had the idea to write a novel about a post-apocalyptic world, and wondered if he could still make an attempt at it. I told him our relationship with language changes throughout our lives, and that he should experiment with his new voice to see what creativity it sparks. Maybe this is exactly the right voice my colleague needs to tell his story.